Here I go talking about my neighbor again. I think that they call it Sundowners because if it is a Sunday and she lays down to take a nap, she wakes back up and swears that it is Monday and she has missed her doctors appointment which is Monday but 2:30 in the afternoon, not 2:30 am. She calls and wakes me up saying that she has missed her appointment because of me. And after I have her settled down ( so I thought ) I find out that she is wandering the streets not knowing where she is going. Today is trash day and I put her trash can out to the curb to be picked up and when I went to bring it back to the house, it was gone only to find it in her garage and stinking to the high heavens but she doesn't remember doing it. I wonder if she is getting worse or is it now Alzheimer's?
After a person with dementia starts wandering it is no longer safe for them to live alone. I guess the reason for that is self-explanatory.
Dementia progresses. That means it gets worse. There are many kinds of dementia and they don't switch from one to another. If she now has ALZ, for example, that is what her mild phase was, too. Or if it is Vascular Dementia or any other kind, it has been that all along, only in more mild and manageable form. It is also possible to have more than one kind of dementia at the same time. But regardless of the kind, persons with dementia cannot live alone after the mildest phases pass.
I can't remember ... does this dear lady have close relatives (sons, daughters, sister, etc.)? Someone needs to take matters in hand and see that she has a safe environment.